Chapter 145: If You Don’t Like It, We Can Change It

Shen Zhaoxi felt a twinge of guilt. Looking at him like this, how could it seem as if she had let him down? And now he was here, seeking her to take responsibility. She pondered for a moment, her flawless pale face bathed in the afternoon sunlight, hazy like a thin mist.

“That day, I drank too much and don’t quite remember,” she said, her eyes dim and unclear, her voice uncertain.

“If you feel you lost out, I can even let you kiss me back,” she added with a faint smile.

“After all, it’s just for fun, not something you can’t afford, right?”

As she spoke, their eyes met—his deep black ones and her soft, tender peach blossom eyes. Yet, despite their warmth, there was no affection in her gaze.

The man’s complexion was fair, his slender neck exposed with the Adam’s apple subtly protruding. His thin lips pressed lightly together, while his dark eyes seemed veiled in mist.

His expression was calm as he listened to the young woman utter words of betrayal.

“Mm,” Lu Yunzhou responded softly.

His posture was upright and noble, exuding a chill similar to a pine tree clinging to a cliffside, evoking a sense of steady composure.

He listened as she finished speaking and swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving once. Shen Zhaoxi frowned, her gaze falling upon it.

“We are adults,” she said, knitting her brows as she heard the man’s low, magnetic voice.

Suddenly, the image of that night flashed in her mind—the moist touch of her lips pressing against his enticing Adam’s apple. It was a blush-worthy memory.

How could she have been so reckless that day? How could she have dared to act on his Adam’s apple? Had she been drinking? She must have had a little, but not enough to lose control.

“We have an engagement,” he said, his eyes filling with an emotion like a mist rising from a cliff—thin, elusive, and tinged with coldness.

“Being kissed by Zhaozhao isn’t a loss,” Lu Yunzhou said with a calm expression, his deep eyes serene as if a subtle glimmer had briefly passed, barely noticeable.

His voice was low and seductively magnetic, the movement of his Adam’s apple under the sunlight adding to the allure.

Shen Zhaoxi furrowed her brows tightly. He had always been so stern and taciturn before. How could a single meal with grandpa have loosened his tongue so much? And why did he call her “Zhaozhao”? How could he say such things without blushing or heart racing?

Clearly, she had miscalculated.

“Miss…” Just then, a shifting beam of light cast shadows across Shen Zhaoxi’s face.

She turned and saw a servant from the Shen household running over to her.

“Miss, Young Master Lu, your luggage has been packed,” the servant reported.

“Also, Master said that if there’s anything uncomfortable about living at Yuqing Garden, you can always come home to visit.”

Shen Zhaoxi: Come home to visit? Am I still his granddaughter? And they had already packed her bags for her. It was almost as if they were ready to ship her off directly to Yuqing Garden.

It seemed her grandfather was resolute this time—determined to sweep her out the door.

Well, that was fine. The autumn military exercises were approaching anyway.

She had been forcibly put on a three-month leave by the general military district, supposedly to recover from injuries sustained on a mission. That leave was nearly over.

#

“Have you told her yet?” Old Master Shen was hiding behind a large tree by the lake, watching the two figures beneath the shade.

The servant returned and said, “Master, I have already spoken with the young lady.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Old Master Shen said with satisfaction, turning away and heading toward a resting pavilion.

Unbeknownst to him, Shen Zhaoxi’s cold eyes quietly followed the departing elder by the lakeside.

#

After loading her luggage into the car, they drove toward the city center, passing through bustling commercial districts into a secluded, tree-lined row of townhouses.

At Yuqing Garden, the car stopped before a garden gate marked No. 339.

Yuqing Garden was Lu Yunzhou’s residence.

Since reaching adulthood, he had moved out, not living with the Lu family.

So when Shen Zhaoxi moved in with him, it was merely two people sharing a place for companionship.

That was how she saw it.

But when they arrived at Yuqing Garden, Lu Yunzhou paused, furrowing his brow as he looked at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you live alone before, too?” Shen Zhaoxi’s soft voice carried a complex emotion as she stared at the grey-toned background wall and floor-to-ceiling windows, feeling the emptiness.

“Mm,” Lu Yunzhou replied coolly.

Yuqing Garden was prime real estate in the capital.

His townhouse was a two-story row house with a garden in front.

Not as spacious as those standard detached villas, but still large enough.

“Don’t like it?” Lu Yunzhou noticed her hesitation and frowned, his tone betraying concern.

“It’s just a bit cold,” Shen Zhaoxi admitted.

Of course it felt cold.

No one had lived here before.

They only called for cleaning when Lu Yunzhou returned.

He was often away at the military district, rarely home.

Thus, everything was in its original state, grey and bare.

Seeing this, Shen Zhaoxi’s eyes darkened, as if a thought had taken root in her heart.

Hmph, if we’re going to live together, then I’ll show you how troublesome I can be.

Just as she was sizing up the place, a low voice came from behind, almost without restraint.

“If you don’t like it, we can change it.”

Hearing this, Shen Zhaoxi turned to see Lu Yunzhou approaching from behind.

The villa’s interior was empty, many things yet to be furnished, sunlight spilling through the windows, half of it casting across the man’s fair, handsome face.

He came to her side, placing her white suitcase in the living room, then brought her a pair of slippers.

When Shen Zhaoxi looked down, she saw him bending over, his tall, upright figure framed in cool lines, placing a pair of pink slippers before her. He explained softly,

“I didn’t know what color you liked, so I bought these.”

In truth, since he rarely stayed here before, many things were missing.

After returning to the capital and living here, he had only purchased basic daily necessities a man would use.

There were absolutely no women’s items.

So he had bought slippers for her and left them here.

When Shen Zhaoxi saw him bend down, she noticed the slippers in his hand—pink, with two soft, fluffy pom-pom ears like a rabbit.

Pink.